Detroit River Hawk Watch Brownstown, Michigan, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 23, 2020 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total ------------------ ----------- -------------- -------------- Black Vulture 0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 85 1183 1183 Osprey 1 13 13 Bald Eagle 2 22 22 Northern Harrier 2 99 99 Sharp-shinned Hawk 105 1300 1300 Cooper's Hawk 0 6 6 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 2 2 Broad-winged Hawk 0 15628 15628 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 1 114 114 Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0 Golden Eagle 0 0 0 American Kestrel 12 278 278 Merlin 0 8 8 Peregrine Falcon 1 9 9 Unknown Accipiter 0 0 0 Unknown Buteo 0 1 1 Unknown Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown Eagle 0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 0 Total: 209 18663 18663 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Observation start time: 08:00:00 Observation end time: 15:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours Official Counter: Kevin Georg Observers: Andrew Sturgess Visitors: While Lake Erie Metropark is currently open to the public, for the safety of our counter and volunteers we encourage visitors to follow along with the count virtually on HawkCount.org, or our Detroit River Hawk Watch Facebook page. There will be daily updates and photographs. If you do decide to join us in person, please help the counter and volunteers to follow their mandated safety protocols by refraining from approaching them. Please follow the recommended Covid 19 procedures by wearing a mask and maintaining a safe social distance. Thanking you in advance for your cooperation. Stay safe! Weather: There was a familiar look to the site this morning; pale blue sky and lots of haze seemed to doom us to another day of Time to Count the Sharpies. The haze was enough to dim our view of our Canadian neighbors, (only in an optical sense of course). The wind was light from the W and took its time to fill in a little, slowing the liftoff of the birds. The wind gradually increased and changed directions. The wind in our face seemed to be from a different direction than that driving the wind turbines so it was another confusing day in that sense. The barometer gradually dropped below 30” and clouds filled in similar to yesterday with cirrus in the early afternoon and later small cumulus clouds populating the northwestern sky. Raptor Observations: It was a slow start to the day with only one sharpie making the clicker in the first hour. By the end of the day, after a few fits and starts but never a consistent flow, we had amassed one hundred and four of that species. One osprey was counted. Two bald eagles, one adult and one sub-adult went through. Only one juvie red-tailed hawk was spotted. One peregrine falcon was seen, while twelve of its smaller cousins, the kestrel, were noted. Two harriers were seen in solo flights today. There was a little hope that we might see some turkey vulture movement today but light winds and hazy viewing conditions were not ideal. We ended up with eighty five but fear that they may have been more to the north out of view. Non-raptor Observations: We did see a few more Forster’s terns today for a short while, at least six and maybe a few more. Gulls and swallows did not seem to be close by today, or at least they were not blocking the view of raptors. The blue jays continued to impress with over 10K counted again. It is very impressive to see the flow of these birds as they stream by in large congregations. You have to wonder who sends out the memo to get them all together, or is it decided on a Zoom meeting? Predictions: The weather does not really look encouraging again tomorrow. The barometer should stay below 30” and hold nearly steady. Clouds that developed today and tonight should clear early in the morning. Winds should be from the W going to SW in moderate strengths. Potential rains and clearing on Tuesday with winds from the NW and rebounding barometer after that look better for raptor movement but that is a long way off. Sharpies, kestrels and harriers with a chance of turkey vultures will probably be the order of the day tomorrow. ======================================================================== Report submitted by Kevin Georg (kevin.l.georg@gmail.com) Detroit River Hawk Watch information may be found at: http://www.detroitriverhawkwatch.org More site information at hawkcount.org: http://hawkcount.org/siteinfo.php?rsite=285